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Description
The Covid-19 pandemic saw schools switch their operations online and this shone a light on the inequalities among the haves and have-nots. The Malta Trust Foundation was flooded with calls from parents and teachers for donations of tablets, laptops and any device that would allow materially and socially deprived children to continue their education in this unprecedented time.
This project aims to distribute tablets to children aged 11-15 years who are currently in years 7 – 11 and who are not included in in the Government''s One Tablet per Child scheme offered to those in years 4-6.
Through this project, TMTF will also be delivering a media literacy programme to the beneficiaries in a manner and tone best suited to their age, using animated videos that will be disseminated to participants on a monthly basis, allowing them to go through them in their own time. The delivery of the videos will be accompanied by Q & A sessions with the Project Coordinator. The project will be rounded off with an online Media Literacy Workshop led by the children themselves and the project coordinator.
It is the intention of this project to go beyond providing digital accessibility to children of low socio-economic status to help them continue with their schooling. It is primarily an initiative to give the children within the targeted age group the skills needed to navigate the 21 Century.
Summary of project results
The Covid-19 pandemic saw schools switch their operations online and this shone a light on the inequalities among the haves and have-nots. The Malta Trust Foundation was flooded with calls from parents and teachers for donations of tablets, laptops and any device that would allow materially and socially deprived children to continue their education during that unprecedented time. While the organisation was able to provide devices to address the situation in the short term, it came nowhere near addressing the problem.
According to UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 2020, Malta ranks among the bottom three out of 41 high income countries in children’s mental and physical wellbeing as well as academic and social skills. Furthermore, one in five children are at risk of poverty, with the most vulnerable being children aged 10-14 years according to the Malta National Statistics Office.
Therefore, the organisation saw a clear need to provide digital access and education for children in this vulnerable group in an effort to combat exclusion and further disenfranchisement.
This project distributed 57 laptops to pupils aged 10-15 years (in Years 7 – 11) who are not included in in the Government''s One Tablet per Child scheme offered to students in Years 4-6. The laptops were fitted with child safety features.
The organisation also delivered three media literacy workshops between September – November 2023 that saw the participation of 176 students who were identified by educators as children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and being at risk of poverty.
The beneficiaries of this project were children aged 10-15 years old residing in Malta who were enrolled in Years 7-11 during the period of the project. The beneficiaries came from families with a low socioeconomic status who cannot afford educational devices such as computers, laptops, and tablets. The students were referred by schools. In all, 57 students received a laptop each.
Furthermore, 176 children aged 10-15 years old participated three media literacy video workshops that were held to teach them to promote their awareness of media influence and to teach them how to critically evaluate media content.